The Hole
by Animallover1313
Summary: Celene is a normal girl; a girl who's father left years ago, which her mother wouldn't tell her why. Then, when she goes on a cruise ship going to the U.S.A from Greece, she meets Nico, who is a boy with a hard past, and has no father or mother. Her life changes before her eyes, and she finally feels like she belongs someplace. Rated T 'cause I'm paranoid.
1. Nico

Prologue:

The wind battered my brown hair as I looked down at the hole. I almost took a step forward; almost took a step to my death, falling down until the floor would shatter my bones. I took a deep breath, and turned around. Behind me was the person who betrayed my trust… the one person I truly trusted and loved.

"Please, I can explain! Please don't do this! I love you…. I always have! I didn't do something like that. I'm not that cold-hearted! Why don't you trust me?" He pleaded, watching my feet as I moved around; back and forth, side to side.

Tears formed in my eyes as I drew my knife, and threw it at him. Dodging it with speed, he moved closer to me; and the hole. I punched him as he paced in circles, but he didn't hit me back. He moved closer to the hole, but took a misstep. I screamed as he stumbled, and I watched as he fell into the hole.

I ran forward, and looked down. No one was there. My best friend, my love, my ally… gone.

1 year later:

Starting college was a hard thing to do, without my best friend to guide me. I always thought that he would be there to see me off, and he would get a music scholarship somewhere back in New York. But, that wouldn't happen then. I was wishing my mom off with a faint smile and a wave as I dragged my suitcase up and onto the stairway of the boat.

Looking back, I saw her wipe a brisk tear off her cheek and wave happily back towards me. I looked back at the Carnival Cruise ship that I going to be in for more than a month.

Walking towards the buffet, teenage boys wolf-whistled at me to come towards them, so, reluctantly, I did.

"What?" I asked, looking at one from the other. Some chuckled; others looked with interest aimed at my chest. "My eyes are up here, dufus." I pointed at my face, and they all stayed silent. "What are you here for? College; Life… Whatever it is you do?"

I stare annoyed at them as they stammered for an answer. But, I never got one, because I felt the boat move. Hard. I tumbled into one of the boys' arms, and he grinned in a joyous way. I was surprised at myself, and glared into his deep hazel eyes. I pressed my palm against his chest, and backed away from him. The boat wasn't rocking so hard anymore, so I ran up the stairs, totally forgetting my suitcase. Hopefully, the bellboy would get it to my room for me.

I ran into him again on the way to the buffet. He was standing in line, but his friends were no where to be seen. I quietly made my way there, trying to not be seen by anyone; especially by the boy. But, like always, my luck truly sucks. He ran over and smiled. I couldn't help but smile lightly back, and stood next to him in an awkward silence.

"So…" he started off, his face red.

"So really, why are you here?" I demanded, looking straight at him. He paused, and then stammered an answer.

"Like you said; life. I just wanna get away from that place." I cocked my head, but he didn't continue.

"Well, I'm going to a vet college in Florida. I want to help animals. They're so innocent; I just feel bad that people like their owners would hurt them like that." He nodded in agreement, but before he could open his mouth to speak again, the boat's engine roared, and the cruise ship started to rock again. He caught me before I could do a face plant to the red carpet. I tried to get out of his grasp, but the boat kept rocking back and forth, leaving me in his hold every time.

The captain's voice boomed in the speakers: "The cruise ship is going to turn around back to Athens, because there are some technical difficulties with the cruise ship's engine and control systems. You will get a full refund, but will stay on the ship until further notice." Then the annoying motto came along with it. "We hope you had a _magical _stay with the Carnival Cruise!"

A lot of the people started to mutter about stupid cruises, while other people headed to their rooms, leaving me and the boy alone. Still in his arms; I wriggled out of his grasp, and but the boat rocked again, but this last one was the most hard one on the trip. It sent me falling towards him, making me fall on top of him. He gave a cocky grin, and I pushed myself off of him, rubbing my head. "Owww," I murmured with infuriation, while he stood up before me, and held a hand out. I grabbed it, and he pulled me up.

"The name's Nico. And you're…"

"Err, my name is… Celene." I stuck out my hand, and he shook it willingly. The boat rocked again, but I planted my feet on the ground. I still shook, but leaned onto his shoulder. The rocking stopped, and I rubbed my arm awkwardly. Starting to walk back to my cabin, I noticed that he was following me.

It was also getting kind of creepy, though. At first it was a game; trying to hide and scare him, then laughing my ass off, but then we started going down the same hallway, and stopped at the same room. "Whatcha doing'?" I asked as he and I went into the cabin; which had two beds. _Oh God…_ I groaned inwardly as he collapsed on the other bed.

"Well hi there, roommate."

3 days later:

"So what's up?" I asked as I started to go through the clothes until I found my blue ruffled bikini.

"Nothin'. Say, do ya wanna come with me to the waterslides for two each?" He was already in a shirt and swim trunks, so I thought that I couldn't say no. That might disappoint him, and "I was no tough one when it comes to that.

Next thing I knew, he was dragging me down the hallway and outside on the top deck. He practically carried me up the stairs, and plopped himself down on the tube, waiting for me to join him. I would've, but my seat was on his lap. Shrugging, I climbed on top of him, and we were pushed with a jerk down the steep ride. Pressing my face in between the crook of his neck and his shoulder, I heard him laugh as we plummeted towards the water. Then, we stopped. Lifting my face from his shoulder, I saw that we had stopped… And were underwater. The boat had a slide under it!

I looked at him, and smiled. As he looked from my green-gold eyes, then to my lips, he leaned forward. I hesitantly leaned forward too, and my lips were smashed against his. It was like our lips were in the perfect mold, and magnificent. I pulled away first, then looked around.

I felt a rumbling coming from… somewhere. As the rumbling got louder, I saw that there was a bubbling hot tub-like pipe of strong water. Clutching onto Nico, the rumbling got more deafening, and my eyes widened. _My god… It has enough pressure to push us up back onto the top deck in seconds… or less! _

Finally, we got to the end of the tube. We counted down from three, with nervous expressions on our faces. Suddenly; _BOOM!_ A flood load of water blew out from under us as we flew up the ship, and splashed in a pool. Others were around us, looking as surprised and in awe as we were.

I felt something under me, and I realized that Nico was gone. I looked frantically around the tube, and then abruptly I was lifted into the air, and was dunked in the pool. "OH MY GOD! YOU LITTLE-" I shrieked as he then splashed a wave of sweet-tasting water on me; leaving me even more drenched and irritated than ever. I jumped on his back and piggy-backed him until he fell on his side, and I declared myself victor.

Truthfully, I thought that maybe, just maybe; I might be able to move on from Damien.

1 week later:

We still hadn't returned to the shore, and now some were panicking. Some went to the captain, while others locked themselves in their bedrooms and calling room service. He and I chilled out, and had fun while we could.

One time while he and I were gazing at the endless ocean, I saw a speck of land. Jumping up and down, I squealed in joy seeing the land. Nico rested his head on my shoulder, and I pointed at the area of land. When I pointed it out to him, he started to form a troubled expression. Something must've happened if he didn't want to come back this much.

"Say, I saw lobster and butter in the buffet. Want me to grab some for ya and leave it in our room?" A lady passed by, and started to stifle a laugh when he said it out loud. I felt disappointed, but let him go ahead. The lady came right back, and bombarded me with questions.

"Oh my goodness, he's a hot one! Is he available? OMG, I would sooo go for him if he was! You know, I see how he looks at you, you totally have him wrapped around your finger!"

My face was a dark cherry red as I answered her. "Oh God no! You think he and I... Just no!" I laughed nervously as I tucked a loose strand from my fishtail down the side of my head, laying on my shoulder.

She started to mutter about young love, and walked away.

I started to walk back to my cabin (well, our cabin, but I just like superiority for myself... And besides, it would be awkward if I said I had a boy for my roommate.) and unlocked it, opening it to a stressed Nico, and two plates of lobster.  
I silently walked over to him, and sat next to him on his bed. He looked at me, and shook his head. I placed my hand on his shoulder, and knelt in front of him. "What happened there that you don't want to go back so much?" I whispered, lifting his chin. His hazel eyes were full of sadness, mistake, and grief.

He looked at me, then stood and tossed me my bikini and grabbed his swim trunks. "I will, if we go on the tube ride again. This time, you look." He said with a smirk, and I laughed as he kissed my temple, and headed for the bathroom. I smiled, and then started to change for the slide. Slipping on some shorts, I smugly smirked at Nico, who had his mouth open, adjusting to the fact that I was in a bikini in front of him.  
"Well come on then!" I shouted very loudly, jolting him in his trance. "Let's go."

We skidded as we stopped at the bottom of the slide. I turned so I could see him, and asked, "What happened?" He stared at my lips for some time, before muttering a few faint words. I asked again, and he spoke louder.

"My parents... They died mysteriously when I was just a toddler. Just a toddler!" he cried, almost pleaded. "I had to stay in an orphanage for what felt a lifetime. I was always bullied there, so when I finally got adopted, I like started acting cocky, like a jerk. All the girls wanted me, but I passed my grades. I was a bad person there, one of the popular kids. Then, people who meant a lot to me just... Disappeared. I got scared, and that's it. I left for college, and now here we are." He sighed, and I laid my hand on his cheek. Nico grasped my hand in his, and it seemed to calm him.

I hugged him as we moved towards the dead end, and I turned towards him. "Nico, I know how it feels like to lose someone you care about. My dad died in a car accident and my boyfriend-" He looked at me, and I corrected myself with a nervous laugh. "Well, my ex-boyfriend... He fell into, er, a hole. It was a long way down." A tear rolled down my cheek, and Nico wiped it off with his thumb.

Sooner than I expected, we were shot up in the air, and I landed in the pool with a loud smack in the water. Rubbing my side, I swam back up to the surface. Finding a raft from my bag, I laid down on it and closed my eyes. Not long after, I felt wet. Last time I checked, I was perfectly dry, a little damp maybe.  
Opening my eyes, I screamed as my eyes stung from the chlorine. My nose started to squeeze up, and I couldn't breathe as easily as I can. I was just lying at the bottom of the pool, looking up. I felt a tear mix with the chlorine as I felt my back tingle in longing. My back tingled again, sending another scream of pain. I couldn't see Alex anywhere. Great, now I feel really stupid. I can't really see in the chlorine; no one can! But strangely, the chlorine water started to change my vision in seconds, and I could easily breathe underwater. I started to panic. This has happened before, but it was the last time I was in a pool. That was... long ago. When my dad was here. He wasn't with us since I was a baby. That's where I get my green-gold eyes from.

My arms willed to move, and my legs ached, but could swim their way up to the surface. Willing myself to kick my legs and move my arms, I looked back down. I went a long way.

1 hour later:

"God, what the hell happened to you?" Nico asked as he scrubbed my face dry. I shivered as I sat on the bed, with him scrubbing me dry. I stammered an answer as he held me close to him. I leaned on him; he gently wrung the towel in the strands of my hair. I stuttered what happened, and he held me tighter. "I won't let anything happen to you like that again. You hear me?" He lifted my chin, and I nodded in reply.

I grabbed something from my suitcase, and found the shirt that Damian had got me for Christmas the previous year. With the shirt in a death grip, I headed to the bathroom with a pain of black skinny jeans and my beanie.

Walking back into the main room, I saw Nico cleaning up around the room… shirtless. I blushed in a mad cherry red. He didn't mind though, and only smirked and smiled in a seductive way. Waggling his eyebrows, he motioned towards his 6-packed torso. I slapped him on the shoulder, and he whimpered like an infant. I laughed, and he chased me around the room, jumping over the beds and the TV cabinet.

Shrieking as he chased me, I stumbled on a pair of Vans that he had probably left out, and he fell on top of me. I squirmed, and he only kissed my nose and pulled me back up. I muttered about him being immature, and we walked out of the door.


	2. My Messed-Up Family

We met all of Nico's friends at the diner, and they were a mix of girls and boys. One girl was a tan blonde, probably from California, and with startling grey eyes. She was friendly, though, and really kind.  
"Hey," she greeted me. "I'm Annabeth, and this is my boyfriend Percy." She motioned toward a tall muscular boy with jet black hair like mine, with tan skin; slightly lighter than hers, and with sea-green eyes. Both of our eyes widened, and he studied my green-gold eyes curiously.  
"I'm sorry, do I know you from somewhere?" I asked him, and he cocked his head. Annabeth noticed this, and looked at me with jealousy. My eyes widened, and I started to reassure her. "Oh, no I don't... I already have a boyfriend, Annabeth. Don't worry, I won't steal him or anything. He's all yours." She seemed to brighten up a little when I said that, and both of them shook my hand.  
"S'okay." She replied, and motioned to the rest of the people, who were looking at the three of us curiously. "This is Thalia, Percy's and Nico's cousin," she motioned towards a girl who had freckles on her nose, and with electrifying blue eyes and black hair. She studied me, and her eyes widened.  
"I know you from somewhere, I just know it!" She finally exclaimed, and all of us jumped. She stood up and walked over to me, and took a handful of hair in her hand.  
"Oww... that kinda hurts," I murmured, and she looked on the layers of my hair.  
"Waist length black hair with mixes of brown," she muttered, and kept on describing me. "Green-gold eyes..." Her eyes widened until they looked like they would pop out of their sockets. "Celene!" She screeched as loud as an eagle. "Oh my gods, it's been such a long time!" She screamed as she tackled me in a hug. I cocked my head, and Nico pulled her off.  
"What's going on? None of us know what you're talking about!" He said, and shook Thalia by her shoulders. She pointed at my eyes, and motioned towards them like they were dumb-ass monkeys.  
"Guys! Only one person *cough god cough* has those kind of eyes!"  
Everyone's eyes widened, and Percy stood up and scooped me up in a hug.  
"Er... I don't know what you're talking about. My father has these eyes, but he isn't anyone important I thought..."  
Percy shook my shoulders. "Celene, you're my half-sister. Your dad is my dad, and he's a... god." His voice dropped to a whisper, and I sighed in relief.  
"And I'm guessing he's the god of the...sea?" I started cautiously, and everyone smiled.  
Percy just nodded. "Poseidon, god of the sea, earthquakes, and equestrian and sea creatures."  
I cocked my head, and gasped. "That explains everything!" I said, and started to pace. We were now outside, and everyone was either in beach chairs or next to the pool. "One day, I was in the pool, and my mother and father were both there.. I mean our father. I was about three years old at the time. Then, when I jumped into the pool, I was sitting at the bottom for about 30 minutes. My mother started to panic, but my father calmed her down, and dove in to get me out of there. Then, when I was seven, we were at a horse stables for a field trip, and when the bus left, all of the horses broke out of the stables and started following us. But, guys look out!" I yelled and tore off my necklace, and touched the moon pendant. It transformed into a bow and arrow, and I shot an arrow at the Cetus. The monster roared in pain, and I climbed onto the railing and jumped.  
"Celene!" Percy, Nico, and Thalia screamed as I plummeted down into the water. _Dad, please don't fail me now,_ I thought and concentrated. I felt the cold water in my face, but felt completely dry. I felt full with energy, and felt the water guide me back up to the surface, and I crept behind the Cetus. Shooting it in the back, it turned around, and jumped towards me. It clawed me, but I created a wall of water that reflected back to him, and he bellowed in anger. I jumped on its head and stabbed its mouth with a knife that I'd kept in my high converse. It squeaked, and plummeted into the ocean, with me jumping in after it.

Meanwhile... (Percy's POV)  
"Where'd she go? I can't see her!" Nico yelled when the monster fell into the ocean.  
"I don't know, but I can still sense her in the water," I murmured as I held onto the railing with a death grip. I ran inside, and went to the lowest balcony possible, and looked back to my friends. "Guys, if you see her, get her as fast as you can; okay? I can still feel her presence."  
Annabeth looked at me; clearly worried. "Make it out, Seaweed Brain." And with that, she hugged me and kissed my lips. I wrapped my hands around her waist, and Thalia said very loudly, "Enough with all that, you lovebirds. I'm lucky that I'm with the Hunters of Artemis. I don't need to deal with all of this crap. Come to think of it, Celene should really join us. She's epic with that bow."  
"No!" Nico yelled with the same loud voice, and we all laughed when Nico immediately turned beet red.  
I jumped into the water, and saw Celene immediately. She was still using her bow and arrows, (I don't really know how she could do that, but I didn't pry) and the Cetus clawed at her leg. She was calm, but her wound healed completely. Sea creatures such as sharks and dolphins came towards her, and the shark nudged her. She petted its snout, and she shot one last arrow that had a miniature jar of Greek Fire; so small that it could've been in those 8 oz. hand sanitizer jars. She motioned for the animals to get behind her, and they all obeyed, and she set a huge wall of water to protect them. The Cetus exploded with green everywhere, and she grew unconscious. One of the dolphins caught her with its back, and it started to carry her back to the surface. It noticed me, and in an instant swam to me.  
_Here is your sister, my lord_, the dolphin told me, and I responded with a simple thank you. I swam up to the surface, and I looked at Celene. She was awake, so I set her down, and her bow and arrow transformed into a moon pendant. _Strange, it's just like my ballpoint pen_, I thought. Celene sped up to the surface, and I was right behind her.

Meanwhile... (Celene's POV)  
_Shit!_ I screamed in my mind when he clawed a gash in my leg. I knew it was poisoned, but I never told anyone. It'll be fine by tomorrow. At least I found people who I belong with. I mean, I have a brother I didn't even know about! That's awesome, though. The pain the poison is bringing me is actually killing me. (Not literally, just a figure of speech) I reached the surface, and Percy was right behind me. I willed the water to keep me dry, and I used a set of stairs made of water to climb up. I reached the balcony where Nico, Thalia, Annabeth, and their other friends were waiting for us. Stepping on my good leg first, I cautiously stepped on my bad leg. I fell, and Thalia caught me.  
"Jeesh, cousin. What'd you do?" She asked me, her blue eyes full of concern.  
"Nothing, just... just tripped." I answered, and stood up. "So, who are the others? I never got introduced to them," I started, quickly changing the subject.  
Percy and Thalia looked at me with concern, and Thalia gave me a 'we're gonna talk later or you're gonna pay' look, and I just nodded.  
"Well," Annabeth started. "Thalia is a daughter of Zeus, god of gods, and god of the sky and storms. Nico is the son of Hades, god of the Underworld, and you and Percy are kids of Poseidon, god of oceans, water storms, earthquakes, and sea and equestrian creatures." She took a breath, and continued. "I'm a daughter of Athena, who is the goddess of wisdom and battle strategy, Katie is a daughter of Demeter, goddess of plants and grain." A girl with brunette hair and green eyes stepped forward, and a boy with blue eyes and brown hair had his arm draped around her shoulders.  
"Hi," she said, looking at me, and I waved to her.  
"I'm Celene. Pleasure to meet you," I started, and accidentally stepped with my bad leg. I ignored the huge pain building up, and smiled.  
"I'm Travis, son of Hermes, and here's my brother Connor," the blue-eyed boy said, and I shook his hand too, along with the guy next to him.  
"Grover, here, is a satyr, and his girlfriend Juniper is well... a juniper." Annabeth started cautiously, when Grover all of a sudden tore off his shoes and pants.  
"GROVER!" Juniper screamed at him. Everyone else was laughing (yes, including me) and Juniper started to scold him.  
Everyone looked at me, and I just shrugged. "I've seen more surprising stuff." I replied, and everyone looked at me with a weird expression. "What?" I asked. "The last person Grover did that to fainted." Percy answered me, and I started to laugh.  
"Are you serious? I thought that we would see much worse." Everyone agreed, and we kept on going with the introductions.  
"Silena and Piper here are daughters of Aphrodite, goddess of beauty." Annabeth motioned towards two girls; one with blonde hair and blue eyes, who was holding hands with an African American muscular guy, who had brown eyes and a shaved head.  
"Hi," I started, but she squealed in delight.  
"OMG, I will have so much fun with you! For the eye shadow, I think that a gold or murky green would be best for you, and your hair would look GREAT curled, and-" The girl and boy together pulled her away from me, and the boy had her in his grip, quickly apologizing to me.  
"I'm sorry about... her. When she meets new people, she gets crazy about the make-up, and clothing and stuff. Especially with girls. I'm sorry you had to see that." He finished, and stuck out his hand, and I shook it. "Beckendorf's the name, but my first name is Charles. Nobody calls me that, though. My little bro Leo is right next to me, he'll be happy to see another Hispanic."  
My eyes widened. "How'd you know I was-"  
"Hello beautiful," I heard a voice say in front of me, and I saw a short Latino elf-guy, and he shook my hand with a lot of energy. "I'm Leo, and here's my number." He passed me a slip of paper, and folded it in my hand. I looked at everybody, who were laughing hysterically. All except for Nico. Nico wrapped his arm around my waist, and kissed my temple.  
"Desperate, are we, Nico?" I questioned him, and everyone laughed even more.  
A girl with brown choppy hair and bluish green eyes walked up to me. "I'm Piper, daughter of Aphrodite. I'm really sorry about my sis. She can be like that sometimes. My boyfriend here is Jason, son of Jupiter, or as we would call him, Zeus." She pulled a blonde-haired boy in front of me, and I shook his hand.  
"Thalia, would he be counted as my cousin?" I asked, and she responded in a moment after I said the question.  
"He's my biological brother, so yes, yes he would be."  
"Okay, I was confused about the sides of the gods."  
"Well, I think that's everyone. Rachel's at New York right now-" My eyes widened, and everyone turned to me.  
"You okay, Celene?" Annabeth asked me, and I just nodded hesitantly.  
"That's it, we're talking privately here and now. Everyone, scram!"  
When she said that, everyone seemed interested in the diner, and Nico said he'd meet us at the diner after we talk. "What's going on? What..." She gasped and looked at my right leg that I was hiding. "Celene, your leg! What the Hades happened to it?!" She set me down on a beach chair, and I sighed.  
"I was clawed by the Cetus there." Her eyes widened even more.  
"Celene, it's poisonous! Why didn't you tell anyone?"  
"Because I didn't want to be a burden to everyone, that's why!" I cracked. Tears started to stream down my cheeks, and I stood up from my chair, but gasped when my leg touched the ground. I ignored it, and ran as fast as I could to my room.  
"Celene, wait!" I heard Thalia yell after me, but I ignored her. I fumbled with the key card, and locked myself behind the door and started to sob.

Meanwhile... (Percy's POV)  
Celene looked hurt, but I couldn't tell why. Was it because of the fight? I didn't think so, but when only Thalia came to the diner, it escalated to the last level. "Where's Celene?" I asked, and I saw her wipe a few tears off of her face. That got me worried. "What happened?"  
"Celene's leg... it got hurt... but she tried to ignore it... and she got clawed by the Cetus... her leg... it was... poisonous... and she's gone!" She finished, and burst into tears. All of the girls went over to Thalia and hugged her, and started to comfort her. Nico grabbed me by the arm, and started to go to his cabin.  
"Why are you... oh. YOU'RE SLEEPING WITH MY SISTER?!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, but Nico had a 'you dumbass' look on his face.  
"Hades no! We're roommates! That's how we first met, jeesh!" Nico threw his hands up, and slid the keycard in. It clicked before he pushed the door open to find no Celene. "Celene! Where are you?!"  
"Over here," a small voice said, and we saw Celene sitting next to the door, and her eyes were bloodshot.  
Nico and I rushed to her, and pulled her up, but she cried out in pain when she stood up. She crumbled to the floor, and I picked her up and carried her bridal style to the bed, and set her in Nico's lap (much to his joy, and much to my disapproval). She squirmed when we got out the container full of canteens out. Nico handed me one, and I dribbled some in her mouth. Her eyes widened, and she started to relax. I then gave her the ambrosia, and I cracked it in half before giving it to her. She chewed on it cautiously, then swallowed it. Nico felt her head, then took it off immediately, and I looked at his hand. It started to grow blisters from where he put his hand on her head, and I did the same. Moments after, I had the same thing. "Shit, Celene. You're burning."  
She tried to get up, but both of us combined had to keep her down. "Get the fuck off of me! I... I need to get... Shit!" She jumped off but failed; falling off of the bed. "Guys, GET OFF." She touched her moon pendant, and it transformed into her bow and arrow. She limped out of the room, and the both of us followed. From behind the door stood a Minotaur.

Meanwhile... (Celene's POV)  
I notched an arrow at the minotaur, and let the arrow fly. It hit the minotaur in the eye, and he bellowed in pain. I climbed up the stairs as fast as I could to the top deck, and the minotaur followed. I was on the top deck, and was about to shoot another arrow when the minotaur swiped its hand, and it slammed me against the wall.  
"CELENE!" I heard the both of them scream. I looked over to where my bow and arrows were. It was across the deck. There was no way that I could run over there without the monster ripping my guts out. My leg still was bad, but the poison was gone from it. It just had the cracks in the bone that I had to worry about. The minotaur pounced on me, and I rolled out of the way. I knelt, and crawled to the pool. I dove in, and felt immediately stronger. The pain in my leg was easing, and soon came to nothing. I tried to get up, but I saw a flash of black hair, and Percy kept me down. "Celene, you need to stay here. The longer you stay here, the better your leg gets. Nico is battling the Minotaur right now. I'm going to go back up and help him."  
"Why would any of you care? You barely know me." I argued, and his eyes widened.  
"Celene, you're my sister. Of course I'd care about you! Thalia thinks of you as her little sister. Annabeth finds you smart and kind, and everyone else thinks the same. You have a good heart, and you would do anything to protect anyone you care about. I mean, who would jump into the ocean and defeat a Cetus; and then just brush off a poisoned leg like it was nothing; even though it would hurt so much on the inside? Not a lot of people. That's why we care about you. You're a good person. No wonder Nico likes you." then, he swam back up to the surface. I felt my eyes droop, and before I knew it, I fell asleep.

Meanwhile...(Nico's POV)  
I slashed and stabbed at the minotaur, and it dissolved into gold dust. All that was left was its horns, and I picked them up. Percy walked up to me fro the pool, and he was completely dry. My Stygian Iron sword shrunk back into a ring, and I slipped it back on my right ring finger. Percy noticed the horns, and sighed in relief.  
"I haven't seen those in a while." He said, and he dove back into the pool to get Celene.

Meanwhile... (Percy's POV)  
I dove back to the bottom of the pool, and saw Celene fast asleep. I smiled at that, but then frowned. What did all these monsters want to do with her? I mean; there were two monsters that had injured her in one day. No body's had that many encounters; not even a Big Three child. I picked her up gently, and started to swim for the steps of the pool. Stepping onto the stairs, I was immediately dry when I got out of the pool, and so was Celene. I set her down on a beach chair, and everyone came out of the diner laughing, (well, except for Thalia, she was still pretty guilty) and Annabeth shushed them when they saw me and Nico next to Celene. They all rushed forward, and Thalia knelt next to her.  
"Is she all right now?" She asked as quiet as she could, and I nodded.  
"She's just asleep. We got attacked by a Minotaur just a while ago. She got slammed into a wall over there." I pointed toward the crater at the side of the wall, and everyone gasped.  
"That's ... huge. Will she be all right?" Annabeth asked, and I shrugged.  
"I don't really know. She didn't seem fine when we had to treat her leg. She started to curse a lot.''  
Everyone laughed at that. Even though Celene can be in a bad state, she sure knows how to make someone smile.  
Nico picked her up, and Silena and Piper followed him. "We're going to bring her back to her room, and change her into something. I mean, they're going to." We all laughed at Nico for his choice of words, and he turned a magenta. Silena added, "We're going to have so much fun going through her clothes, aren't we, Piper?" She nudged Piper, and Piper just nodded. We all heard a groan, and we turned to see Celene waking up.  
I could hear Nico trying to get her to wake up more, and she muttered, "Do it and I'll fucking kill you Nico." We all burst out laughing, and Thalia said in an approving tone, "I like this girl." We heard a splash, and we realized that Celene was dropped into the pool. She immediately came out, and was dripping wet, which really irritated her. Then with a snap of her fingers, all of the water on her clothes flew like a huge wave to Nico. He now was dripping wet, and we all were rolling on the floor laughing. Celene dusted off her hands, like she just did hard work, then sighed when Nico gave her his puppy dog eyes, and absorbed the water from his clothing. Silena and Piper dragged Celene to change her clothes into a bathing suit, and Celene just shrugged. She looked in the bag that she always carried, and pulled out a bathing suit. Silena looked at her in awe, and looked through her bag.  
"DAMN, Percy. You've got a resourceful sister." Silena said as she rummaged through the bag that Celene had. She gave it back to her, and Celene went to go get changed.

Meanwhile... (Celene's POV)  
As soon as I got changed, I went outside, along with all the other girls; who all had bathing suits underneath. When we walked out, all the boys' eyes widened, and we all laughed. I led Nico to the slide where we shared our first kiss; and motioned for Percy and the rest of them to follow. We paired up, with me and Nico first, next was Annabeth and Percy, then Silena and Beckendorf. Then, we had Piper and Jason, and Katie and Travis. (all were happy, excluding Connor and Leo.) Thalia was separate, and Connor and Leo didn't have a partner, so they went separately too.  
We skidded down, and I held onto Nico like he was a teddy bear. (Technically he's my teddy bear, but if any of you touch him, just expect a fist colliding with your face.) The tube stopped, and I could hear gasps from all around us. "So, do you guys like the view?" I asked behind us, and I heard Percy make a sarcastic comment. "I heard that, just so you know, Bubbles for Brains." I heard him complain, and I smirked. Nico kissed my lips, and he started trailing down to my neck. I just left my head on his neck joint, and we came to the end of the tracks. I gripped onto Nico tighter, and he just kissed my forehead. I could hear Annabeth and Percy gasp, and I reassured them quickly. "It's okay, it's only bringing us back up from underneath the ship."  
"UNDERNEATH THE SHIP?!" They screeched, and I just sighed. We flew back up the decks at an undefinable speed, and we plopped into the pool. I tentatively dipped my feet into the water from the tube, and a wave of water splashed me from no where, and I got drenched, since I didn't know I would get wet.  
''PERCY I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!" I screeched at the top of my lungs, and started to chase him around the deck, until I tackled him. "Don't. You. Ever. Do. That. Again. You. Scared. The. Hades. Out. Of. Me!" I yelled at him and slapped his shoulder, and he rubbed his shoulder in mock hurt.  
"Owww..." I just rolled my eyes and helped him up.  
When we came back, the blue-eyed brothers; or the Stolls, as Nico told me; pushed Thalia into the pool, and she was drenched wet, with her mascara and black eye shadow dripping everywhere. She looked into a mirror that Piper gave her, and she screamed in alarm.  
"I'm gonna kill you!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs, and started to chase them along the deck. They hid behind me, and I groaned. "Out of everyone, you hide behind me. Very nice!" I stopped all of them by grabbing them by the shirts. "Listen, if one of you take one more step, then I'm going to make sure none of you sit for a week," I warned, and they stopped immediately. Beckendorf wolf-whistled, and everyone's eyes were wide open. Nico walked beside me, and snaked his arm around my waist.  
"That's my girl," he praised me and kissed my temple. Silena and Piper 'awwed', causing everyone to laugh at my now red face. I frowned, and so did Grover. I turned around to see a group of girls and boys staring intently at me, and I fingered my moon pendant in my fingers. I nudged Percy and Nico, and they tensed up immediately, too. I ignored my brother's command to get back there, and started to walk towards the group.

Meanwhile...(Nico's POV)  
I tensed when I saw the group of teenagers like us staring at Celene, and she started to walk towards them. Both me and Percy tried to stop her, but she ignored the both of us. I noticed that all of the girls had on Bermuda shorts; not like regular girls would; and boots. I'm serious. Boots. Now, something was going on. Celene waved to them, and they waved back, eyeing her like she was a present she was just waiting to open. Grover muttered things like '_empousa... Celene needs to get back... Cyclops...', _but I didn't understand what he was trying to say. As she started to get closer to them, I noticed that she was sliding something up her high converse shoe. The knife that she used was in that shoe. Celene threw the knife up in the air, and caught it in a flash. She pinned it to the leader's throat, and the Mist completely changed.  
I now saw a pack of about three or four empousas, with a couple of Cyclopes. "Celene watch out!" I yelled, and an empousa started to charge towards me.  
"My name's Lena. Y'know, I am much more worthy than she is." She motioned towards Celene, who was fighting the other three empousas, and had claw marks on her arms, and one on her cheek. The empousa started to flirt with me, and her voice was melodic; like Celene's. It started to sound enchanting. "You want a kiss?" She inched closer, but I did nothing to stop her.  
"Get the fuck off of my boyfriend you mother fucking bitch," I heard Celene say before tackling her, and pinning her to the floor of the deck.  
I didn't realize a Cyclops was right behind me, because I was lifted off of the ground; and was plummeting, plummeting into the sea, with Celene's screaming my name in the distance.


	3. Voluntarily Captured,yes it's possible

Meanwhile... (Celene's POV)  
I jumped off from the railing, and sped up to Nico, who was closing his eyes. I kissed him, and he opened his eyes in surprise. I just smiled, and came from behind him and grabbed him from around the waist. "Don't worry, Nico." I murmured to him.  
We fell into the water, and I created a bubble of oxygen so Nico could breathe. "Nico," I nudged him. "Nico, wake up."  
He immediately woke up, and hugged me so hard, it felt like a truck just hit me. I hugged him back, wrapping my arms around his neck. I couldn't hold the bubble much longer; it was giving me the pain of the scratches even more than before. I gasped; and Nico seemed to get less breath.  
"Celene, I can't-" His words were caught off, and he started to sink.  
"Nico!" I screamed, and started to lug him to the surface. He didn't have much time before his body would break down. It would be all because of me. It would be my fault. I saw tears escape my eyes and mix with the saltwater. I broke the water surface; and started to carry up the ship.

Meanwhile... (Percy's POV)  
Celene climbed up the surface, and laid Nico down. He wasn't breathing, and Celene was clearly crying. She tried CPR on him, and gave him mouth- to- mouth. She kept trying to revive him, and finally, he spurted out water. We all breathed out in relief. The Cyclops grabbed her from behind, and she started to thrash. The Cyclops only held her tighter, and the empousa walked up to her. The empousa slapped her, and scratched her, raking her claws on Celene's face. I pulled out my ballpoint pen and uncapped it. "Get off of her!" I yelled, and another Cyclops grabbed me.  
"Wait!" Celene commanded. The empousa turned to her, her hand raised as if to smack her. "I have a deal. If I go with you, will you not hurt my friends? If you say yes, then I also get to say goodbye. To all of them."  
This took all of us in surprise, and Thalia had tears in her eyes.  
"Celene, you can't do this! Please, stay with us! We can defeat them!" Celene only shook her head.  
"I'm sorry; but I need to keep everyone I care about safe. That includes all of you." The empousa tilted her head, and finally gave her decision.  
"I agree. Go say goodbye to your friends, and you will come with us. We need safe transportation through the ocean... then we'll get rid of you."  
Celene was released by the Cyclops, and she ran to Nico, who was slightly sitting up, with his elbows propping him up. He kissed her, and her tears started to stream down her cheeks. She hugged him, and she started to sob. She started to limp towards me, and slightly tackled me in a hug. She whispered, "Thank you, Percy. I don't know if I'm returning or not."  
That took me off guard, and I hugged her hard, and I started to cry. My sister that I'd just met; a sister I never knew about. She only knew us for a few days at the most; and she was sacrificing herself for us. She let go of me, and Thalia hugged her. I could see that the two had a great bond. Thalia was sobbing, and Celene was, too, but started to comfort her. She let go, and shook Beckendorf's hand. Beckendorf told her to be safe, and Celene told him to help keep us safe. Silena hugged her along with Piper, and the two were trying not to cry. Katie and Juniper were bawling; and Celene told them she'll come back, and they'll have fun when she does. But I knew the cruel reality. Grover hugged her, and kept telling her she was awesome, which brought a smile to her face.  
The Stolls flew at her with a hug, catching her by surprise. She patted their backs, and Leo also hugged her, and kissed her cheek. She turned a bright red, and Jason had to peel him off of her before continuing. He hugged her, and she told him to stay safe, and keep Piper safe for her.  
Last to say goodbye was Annabeth. Annabeth was slightly crying, and Celene hugged her gently. "Keep all of them safe for me, will you?" Celene said, and Annabeth gave her a teary smile.  
"Of course I will. Try to come back?" Celene smiled, and nodded.  
The empousa took her by the arm sharply, and their pack left; with my little sister giving them forced transportation._I promise you, Celene. We will get you back,_ I thought as we all started to walk back inside; going to go to Nico's cabin.

Meanwhile... (Nico's POV)  
I leaned on Thalia as I navigated where our (mine and Celene's) cabin was. When we got in, I silently slid the keycard in, and entered the room. Caroline's smell, Celene's clothes, heck, even Celene's toothbrush reminded me of her. I broke down, and Percy helped me up, setting me down on my bed. I started to cry, the tears coming out more and more I thought about her. I wasn't the only one. I could see tears in Percy's eyes, Thalia was trying not to cry, and Annabeth, Juniper, and Silena started to cry. I took out the only thing I had left of hers; her necklace. My eyes widened, and everyone looked at me with a questioning expression. I opened my hand to let them see it. Their eyes widened when they saw the necklace.  
Percy was the first one to speak. "Nico, why'd she give you that?" I shrugged, and Percy touched its center. "Celene!" He screamed, and Annabeth grabbed his hand and started to get him to wake up. He fell in Celene's bed, and he started to thrash. Suddenly, he woke up, and he was crying. Annabeth nudged him.  
"Percy, are you okay?" Annabeth asked gently, and Percy looked at her with tear filled eyes.  
"No. Celene... she's in trouble..." He stuttered, and Grover placed a hand over his head. His eyes widened, and he pulled his trembling hand back.  
"Guys... she's in the Council of Gaea. She's been given her death sentence. She's going to die by next week."

Meanwhile... (Celene's POV)  
"You are given your death sentence of next week." Gaea commanded, and I was lifted by a Lastrygonian Giant, and was set over his shoulder like a sack of flour. My hands were bound, and we were in an underwater cave. Very bad idea, considering that I was a daughter of Poseidon. Gaea looked at me with little interest, and I focused on the nearest place of water... "Nu-uh, no using your powers; daughter of the sea god." She pulled me off of the giant, and kicked me to the dirt. I bit my tongue from making a cry or scream escape from my lips; because they would punish you for any sound you made. I was thrown into my cell, and I was pinned against the wall by another demigod.  
"What's your name, huh?" He asked as he held a finger to the side of my mouth. I shoved him off of me, but before he could try to pin me again, I twisted his arm and held it behind his back.  
"Don't make another move on me, or I'll break your arm." I quietly started, but then he whipped me around, and we were so close; his nose was touching mine. He moved closer, but I stomped my foot, and a tremor blew him to his cot. He groaned, then stood up. That boy was being really persistent.  
"Luke, son of Hermes." He introduced himself, and stuck out his hand.  
"Celene; daughter of Poseidon." I hesitantly shook his hand, and he pulled me closer to him. He leaned in, and so I leaned in, then punched him in the gut.  
"You bitch!" He yelled, and I heard the guards coming, so I pretended to be asleep. They caught him awake past curfew, so they dragged him away. I could still hear his screams echoing in my mind.

Meanwhile... (Thalia's POV)  
"So, we're gonna break in, get Celene, and get the Hades outta there?" I asked, and Percy nodded.  
"The only problem is the leader, and the hole." Percy visibly shuddered, and Annabeth touched his hand with her own, and he looked at her with gratefulness. Holy Zeus, I'm glad I'm a Hunter. This lovey-dovey stuff is as shitty as monster guts. "The hole," Percy continued, grabbing my attention. "is a huge pit that goes on forever. It's like Tartarus. It does have an end, but it's practically hundreds of kilometers tall, so it'll crush your bones on impact. Especially if you're going at a speed like a prisoner would be." Everyone gasped, and Percy just nodded.  
"We need to get started now, then. If she acts out... I don't know what could happen." I started to panic, but Annabeth placed a hand on my shoulder.  
"We'll find her, Thalia. I promise you that. We'll pack our things, and leave once everyone's ready. Now, we need water, ambrosia, nectar, food, and clothes. We'll have blankets and pillows in the ship." My eyebrows arched.  
"You got us a ship? How are we supposed to get Celene by traveling in a SHIP?"  
"It's a submarine, genius." Percy replied after talking with Beckendorf. Nico grasped Celene's necklace in his hand, and I could see his tears in his eyes.  
"We're coming for you; Celene." He whispered to the empty cabin as he closed the door behind him.

Meanwhile... (Celene's POV)  
I knew they were coming for me, but that was only going to make things worse. The intercom blasted for me to go to the commander's room, and the prisoners snickered, while some girls murmured a goodbye and good luck. Those types of girls were only about three. Out of over hundreds of demigods; only three were nice enough to say goodbye. I was thrown out of my cell, and I felt the luminous glow of the moonlight from the cracks on the peak of the cave. I tried to make contact with my necklace, and tugged it towards me. I looked up at the sky, but was immediately pushed and shoved into Gaea's chamber.  
She smiled a creepy smile, one that was knowing, yet was also very evil and it was like a little three year old waiting for her pony to come knocking the door down. I shivered, and she motioned for the guards to leave. When the guards left, she immediately whipped a knife out from her belt, and slashed it down on my bad leg. I collapsed on impact, and she smirked and laughed. "You're a worthless baby; a girl who has nothing. Not even the little puppet boyfriend whom I was fucking when you two were on your so called 'dating'." She used her two first fingers as quotation marks, and I tackled her to the ground with her knife in my hand. She had a surprised look on her face, and I dug it deeper into the skin of her throat.  
"All I have to do is push," I warned, and she smiled an evil smile; like a smile when a kid knows you'll get in trouble in minutes.  
"All I have to do is scream," She ricocheted, and I decided to let her go. She massaged her neck, and she sat me down in a chair. "I have decided to let you choose whose side you're on. If you're on my side," She fingered her knife in her hand, then continued. "You would then be spared from all the chaos I will cause. If you don't join me, well." She threw the knife at me, but I caught it with accuracy. "You will die. I will give you then until you choose."  
I glared at her, then just turned on my heel and started to limp out of the quarters.


	4. I Do a Suicidal

The Next Week... (Percy's POV)  
We finally made it. We made it to the quarters of Gaea; the earth goddess' headquarters. There were so many monsters and guards around, we probably couldn't even get in without alerting half of her men. We scouted around, and then I gave Annabeth the signal when two guards passed her post. She quickly jumped on them, and knocked them out with the hilt of her dagger. We ran to the cells, and finally saw Celene pacing in her cell. When she saw us, her eyes widened, and she laid back down on the cot, and closed her eyes. We exchanged glances, and looked at all of the other cells. Everyone was following her; laying down in their cots and closing their eyes. Annabeth ran to the cell, and whispered Celene's name. She looked horrible. Her face was full of bruises and scars, and her frame wasn't much better. It looked like they starved her, and her lips were chapped. I looked at her legs, and shook Annabeth's shoulder. She looked where I was pointing at, and her eyes widened. Those bastards! They reopened Celene's wound, and they hurt her! They will pay.

Celene cautiously looked around, and slowly limped towards us.  
"What the Hades are you doing here?" She hissed, and a real guard passed by her cell. Her eyes widened, and the guard ripped her from her cell. She bit her lip, and I could see that she was trying to hide the pain in her leg. She mouthed three words... Hazel, Gwen, and Reyna. I looked for an explanation, and Annabeth figured that they were a group of girls here.

I imitated a gruff voice, and asked, "Where are Gwen, Hazel, and Reyna?" Three girls; two from the same cell, raised their hands. One had cinnamon colored hair, and piercing gold eyes. She was African American, and the girl next to her looked Roman. The roman girl had dark wavy hair, and chocolate brown eyes. The last girl was a brown haired girl with blue eyes. I took them all out of their cells, and whispered in a small voice, "Look, where do the prisoners go when they are caught by a guard?"

The brown-eyed girl narrowed her eyes. "Shouldn't you know? They go to... the hole. Or are executed." All of them shuddered. I asked which direction, and they pointed to the north side of the base. I told Annabeth to guard the girls, and bring them back to the ship. She nodded, and started to go out of sight, with them tailing behind her.  
I started to sprint to the center, where all of the guards were crowding towards.

Meanwhile... (Celene's POV)  
I squirmed in the guy's grip, and he only held tighter, squeezing out my oxygen. He then threw me from across the room to where Gaea sat on her throne, and a smile was created on her face. No, not the 'oh I love you so much' smiles. One of the 'oh I'll love to torture you with this Voodoo doll' smiles.  
She asked me with a devious grin, "Have you chosen which side yet?"  
I nodded in reply, and I stepped towards her. "I say..." She was now on the edge of her seat, and I answered the question. "I say no." I answer simply, and she explodes.

"Send her to the hole!" She screeched, and I looked down. It was pure darkness, and it reminded me of what happened back home. If I would call that a home. It suddenly hit me, and I staggered back, and into the guard's grasp. It was the same hole that... that _he_ fell in. _He_ made me cry for weeks, all because of _this._ This, this portal, this horrible thing! I turned around, and my eyes widened. I saw Nico and Percy grabbing the guard, and tearing him off of me. Nico hugged me, and buried his head in my hair.

"Thank the gods, you're safe! I thought that they'd done something to you, and I couldn't-" I cut him off by kissing him on the lips, for which Percy groaned and broke us apart. Nico glared at him when Percy draped an arm around my shoulder, and protectively pulled me closer to him.  
"You do not do that in front of me. You hear?" We both nodded, and my eyes widened.

"Percy, look out!" I screamed, and pushed him out of the way. The knife dug through my bad leg, and I screamed in pain. I collapsed on the ground, and Nico and Percy immediately ran to my side. I moaned when they pulled me up, and Nico gave me a chunk of ambrosia for me to swallow. They tasted like my mom's homemade gingerbread cookies; the ones we used to make every Christmas. I swallowed it, and he poured some water on the wound. My energy was revived, and my wounds started to heal from where the water could touch and absorb it. I sat up, and Nico carried me bridal-style off of the ground.

"I'm gonna set you down, so please try not to scream." He pleaded, and set my feet on the ground. It felt fine, or at least that what my outside looked like. On my inside, I was crying in pain. Nico kept his hand around my waist, and I slid my hand down from around his shoulders. Gaea was battling Beckendorf, and Thalia, when I heard a shriek of pain. I looked on my left, and saw Piper had a stab wound in her arm.

Jason and I rushed to her, but she pulled out the knife with a growl so low, I looked at her with fear. "You take care of her, Jason. I need to help them with Gaea. I ran to Gaea, and tackled her. She shrieked, and threw me to the floor, and looked at me with surprise.

"You've... You've healed." She murmured, and I smirked and grasped the moon pendant. It transformed into the bow and arrow, and I shot an arrow filled with Greek Fire, and shouted for everyone to take cover. The gang understood immediately, and hid who knows where. The explosion echoed through the cave, but when the smoke cleared, she was standing there, damaged with a blow to the head, and burns. Everyone gasped, and she cocked her head. "You know the real way to destroy me; don't you?" She mused, and I nodded. We circled each other, and I noticed we were right next to the hole. I had been untended for a moment, and when she took that moment to attack; I kicked her in the gut. She stumbled backward, and fell into the hole. I flinched, and Nico hugged me from behind. I looked up at him, and he pecked my lips before playing with my locks of black and brown hair.

He abruptly stopped, and I looked at him with worry. "She's not dead," he whispered, and I nodded.  
"I know." I leaned into his chest as I responded, then looked at him with a pained expression. "And I have to follow her." Nico turned me around with wide eyes.  
"What'd you just say?" He asked me; so close that our noses were touching. I repeated myself. I swept the tears that fell from his eyes away with the back of my hand.

Then I added, "Nico, I know I can't do this alone. So, I was going to ask you if... " He answered my question by smashing his lips against mine. I pulled away, and I smiled for what felt like years. I laced my fingers with his, and I turned, not looking at him. "We have to tell them." I said quietly.

"Yup," he replied as we started to walk towards the group.  
"Guys... we have something to tell you. Gaea isn't dead, and Nico can prove it. So, Nico and I are going to have to go down the hole with her and destroy her at her weakest point. We all know that I don't belong here. I mean-" Juniper interrupted me before I could finish.

"Celene, you dig animals and nature like we do. You belong with us three, at the least," she assured me, pointing at herself, Grover, and Katie. Silena also butted in.

"You have a great sense in fashion, and you are really caring, so of course you belong with us!" Silena squealed, and Piper pushed her away from me. "What I think Silena's trying to say is that we _don't_ look only on looks, and we look underneath. We like what we see on the inside." Piper reassured me, and I smiled softly. Beckendorf nodded, and continued. "You're full of wits and are a quick thinker, so I would think you are welcome with us." He stuck out his hand, and I shook it. "It was an honor knowing you."

Jason shook my hand, and smiled slightly. He hesitantly hugged me, and he said as quiet as he could, "You belong here. Don't deny it. Love you older cousin." He pulled away, and my eyes looked like they were staring into space. Percy gave me a bone- crushing hug, and he kissed my forehead, even though he was the one crying. I hugged him back, and kissed his forehead, and hugged him again.

Thalia next gave me a hug around the ribs, and I gasped. Everyone looked at me, and I lifted up my shirt to show them the scar of the wound I got from Gaea. They all gasped, and Thalia broke down. She started to sob, and kept on crying because I had so many scars. I hugged her, and wiped away her tears. She sniffled, and hugged me around the neck. I could hear her sobbing into my hair, and I patted her back. Nico tugged at my hand, and I let go of Thalia. Before I could go with Nico, Percy gave me one last hug. I smiled at him, and hugged him back. I held my hand with Nico's ,and we counted down in our heads. When we went to the last number, we started to run... then jump. I felt nothing, I just felt like I was plummeting like a stone. I held onto Nico, and he held onto my hand tighter. That was the last thing I saw. Eternal Darkness.

Three weeks later... (Percy's POV)  
It'd been three weeks since my sister and Nico had jumped into Tartarus. Or that's what we thought its name was.  
Our gang was practically falling apart. Even though Celene had stayed with us for a week, it felt like years. Annabeth always drifted off, and snapped at me whenever I tried to talk to her. Thalia was now either always crying or always yelling at everyone. Silena barely ever wore make-up anymore, and Piper's eyes always stayed brown. Jason barely went outside from his cabin. Beckendorf wouldn't come out, but would still come out to bring his plate of food into his cabin; while Jason didn't eat. The Stolls never pranked or cracked jokes anymore, and we all were depressed because of it. Katie and Juniper never checked up on the plants, and Grover never really have any immature moments anymore. He was depressed, and never really laughed ever since they disappeared. None of us did, really. I always had nightmares of Celene dying; being mauled and slaughtered in many ways. Leo never moved anymore; and it seemed to worry all of us.

Today, I passed Annabeth's door to her cabin, and walked in. She turned around, but didn't seem to notice. "Annabeth, what's wrong?" I asked gently, reaching out a hand to touch her shoulder, but she slapped it away. She turned away from me, and wiped away the tears from her face.

"Do you care about her more than you care about me?" She whispered, and my eyes widened. I thought about it more. I knew Annabeth since I was twelve; but Celene was my sister. I would give myself up for them, the both of them. But Celene was family. I stayed silent, and she turned around and slapped me across the face. I staggered back, and held my cheek. She stifled into sobs, and pointed towards the door. "Get. Out. Now." I started to walk out, and she added before slamming the door in my face, "We're done, so stay away from me." I had a shocked look on my face, and everyone seemed to pass the cabin at the time.

"Percy, what's wrong?" I heard Grover ask, and I cleared my throat before wiping the tears out of my eyes. Piper and Silena realized, and they both gasped and gave me a look of pity.  
"Oh gods, Percy. I'm so sorry," I heard Piper murmur, and Silena rubbed my back in a comforting way. I leaned on Grover, and I fell into my bed.

Meanwhile... (Celene's POV)  
I never actually knew how many days we were stuck here, but it seemed like a long time. Every time I tried to sleep, I always woke up with Nico shaking me, and tears were sticky on my cheeks. My last nightmare seemed like the worst one yet. I was at the cruise ship, and my friends and family were standing before me. I ran to my father; who looked just like Percy. I ran to him, and his expression darkened, and he lowered his arms.

"You are a disgrace to our family. Get out of my face," he spat at me, and my eyes welled with tears. My father... hated me? I turned towards my friends, and slowly walked to Percy. He didn't seem to do anything, so I wrapped my arms around him, and he pushed me to the floor.

"Stay away from me, you freak. You never belonged here, and you will." Tears were now streaming down my cheeks, and I turned towards Thalia. She walked towards me, and then kicked me in the gut. I fell to the ground crying.

"Get up, you fucking baby. I said GET UP!" She screamed at me, and when I finally got up, she punched me in the face. I staggered back, and I looked at her with shock. Annabeth looked at me with sympathy, and I started to walk towards her. Suddenly, her nose scrunched up in disgust, and she pushed me away from her.

"Get out of my way, you selfish bitch. You think you're so smart? You probably don't even know what 1+1 is! Do I really have to spell it out to you? It's two!" She yelled in my face, and smacked me across the face. I staggered back, and started to walk towards Piper and Silena. They both looked towards me, and Silena shooed me away like I was an unwanted dog or cat.

"Get away from me, you fat, ugly bitch." Silena sneered in my face while Piper laughed. Silena pushed me to the ground, and I rolled away from Piper when she tried to strike at my abdomen.

"Beckendorf, please help me!" I called out, and he walked up beside Silena.

"No thanks, I wouldn't wanna get my hands dirty for no reason, now would I?" He muttered, and I had a shocked expression on my face. I felt Jason by my side, but instead of helping me; he punched me in my ribs. I fell to the floor, and I saw the Stolls come towards me and kick me in the gut. Leo looked like he was about to wipe my tears away, but instead jabbed his thumbs in my eyes. I screamed out, and he pushed me to the floor again.

"You stress to much, wait..." Travis stepped closer to me, and I flinched. "Is that gray hair?" He questioned, and Connor pulled my hair. I yanked it back, and punched him in the face. He staggered back, and looked at me with a murderous expression.

"It's natural dumb-ass." I defended myself. Their response was fists connected with my cheek, and legs connected with my stomach. Jason stepped on my bad leg, and I saw my vision spray with red.

"I wish you were never even born!" He shouted in my face, and I looked at him with tear-filled eyes. Juniper and Katie gently lifted me up, and grabbed my wrists. I saw something shine behind them in their hands, and I started to thrash, but Grover kept me still while they brought out razors.

"You're stupid and ugly." Katie started and slashed at my wrist.

"You're a disgrace and worthless to everyone." Juniper murmured, and slit my other wrist in her hand. They kept on saying negative things about me, and cut my arms for every one thing they said. I saw Nico beckon me towards him, and I kicked Grover in the stomach. He doubled over in pain, and I looked back at everyone. Everyone hated me here. I was right. I ran toward him, and jumped into his waiting arms. I buried my head in his chest, but then he slammed me against the wall. I squeaked, and his skull ring transformed into his sword, and I was awakened by the real Nico himself.

"Nico!" I cried, and he wrapped his arms around me, and pulled me in between his legs, with my head in his chest.

"Sh... it's gonna be alright," he rubbed my back and stroked my hair while I cried into him.

Meanwhile...(Nico's POV)  
Celene refused to sleep anymore; she was always afraid of getting that nightmare replayed over and over again. I always tried to get her to sleep when we were walking in the dark fiery place. I would see random people walk by us, sneaking curious but slightly dangerous looks at me and Celene, and I would slightly pull her closer to me.

"Nico; please. Go to sleep. I can carry you on my back," she stated wearily, and stumbled. I immediately caught her, and kissed her forehead.

"No, Celene. You're exhausted. I'll carry you on my back. You need to rest." I argued stubbornly, and she sighed.

"Please Nico. You're exhausted too. I can easily tell." She stopped me, and I turned towards her. "I can easily see that you have dark circles under your eyes, and your face is paler than before. You need sleep. My body is different from yours."

"Meaning that it's more beautiful than mine," I smirked at her, and I could tell that she turned a bright red. She shook her head quickly, and continued.

"Hades no. What I'm saying is that if you want to supposedly 'carry me', then you need sleep first." She nudged me gently, and started to sit down under a single tree that stood beside us. She leaned on it, and sat down. She motioned me to sit with her, and I sat beside her. She looked at my tired face, and said in a quiet voice, "I-if you want, you can lay your head down in my lap." I laughed at her stuttering, and she playfully punched me in the arm. I rubbed it, and she just kissed my cheek. I laid my head down in her lap, and fell asleep with her stroking of my hair and quiet but beautiful singing.


	5. Old and New Faces

Meanwhile... (Grover's POV)  
_Percy just got dumped by Annabeth... Juniper and the others are gonna try to convince her to take him back, don't worry,_ I thought as I paced the room while Percy was just stuffing his face in the pillow. Leo was just staring outside at the indigo sea as we were eventually going back up to the surface. The Stolls were here with us, but they were in their own conversation. Beckendorf and Jason were in their cabins, and the prisoners were waiting for us in the main room.

"Percy, we need to head to the main room. It's an important issue," Travis spoke up, and we all gave him the 'why in Hades' would you bring that up at this moment' look, and he just shrugged. Percy just moaned, and Thalia walked into his cabin quietly, and sat down next to him.

"She told us that you said you cared about Celene more than you care about her." Percy looked up from his pillow, and sat up.

"I did say that. Who wouldn't? Celene's family. Neither of them can be replaced. I care about Annabeth with my life, and I do the same for Celene. I just found out about Celene a few days ago, and now she's gone. She's my sister, Thalia. What would say if you found your love of your life... or your bow... and you had to choose between your long lost brother or your bow. Who would you choose?" Thalia shrugged, and we all knew the answer.

"My brother. A bow can be replaced, while my brother can't be."

"They both mean everything to me, but why should she even make that assumption?" Percy asked, throwing his hands up in the air. Thalia just stomped out of the cabin, and we all pulled him up out of his bed. He groaned, but we already pulled him out of the cabin, and it immediately locked itself (thanks to the help of Beckendorf and Leo). "Now," I started. "We need to be nice to the guests here."

Meanwhile...(Celene's POV)  
I stared intently ahead of me. I knew what was there. Tunnels, and civilization, that's what. I stroked Nico's hair and mindlessly sung songs from before... this. Before I met Nico; before I met my brother; before I knew Damien; even. It was when I was a nerdy girl, with no glasses or braces; but a used person for projects and assignments. That made me well known in the popular section; which included Damien. He would use the knowledge that I liked him for my own good, and threatened me to tell everyone at his table. That would make it school-known in less than an hour. I was captain of the horse riding team (yes, there were those), which made me somewhat known to some people. That gave me groups of friends. I was a loner, though. I was the one of those guys who were quiet, and ones who were mysterious. My friends always thought me as either the 'mother hen' or the 'protector and peace keeper'. I tried to be nice, but some people went too far.

I was wiped out of my thoughts of my past when Nico woke up. I was still playing with his hair, and I started blushing when he said out of the blue, "You have a really nice voice. I almost could've mistaken you for a daughter of Apollo." I shrugged, thinking this was no big deal, but it was. I never sang in front of anyone, and it embarrassed me when somebody did so. I realized that I was still playing with his hair, and immediately hugged myself. He laughed at this, and kissed my nose. "It's fine, Celene. "He yawned, then stretched out his legs and arms. He pulled me up, and I stepped on my bad leg first. I almost fell to the ground, but he caught my hand before I would fall into the cracked dirt. "That's it; I'm carrying you."

"What? No, I-" I didn't finish, because he swept me off of my feet (literally) and started to carry me bridal-style. I crossed my arms, (well... at least tried to) and glared at him. He laughed at me, and I looked ahead of us. I saw a pack of wolves, and one with silver fur with brown and gray flecks noticed us. I fell out of his arms, and knelt to see the wolf that towered over me.

Meanwhile... (Piper's POV)  
When we stepped into the main room, we saw a really embarrassed girl whom Leo was trying to seduce by kissing her hand and saying weird French phrases like 'I love cheese' or 'my mom got ran over by a bicycle.' Silena and I burst out laughing, and I peeled Leo off of her, and she sighed in relief, with her face red with embarrassment. The girl's eyes widened when she saw Jason at the doorway. She ran up to him, and tackled him in a hug, and kissed him.

Yup, she kissed my Jason on the lips. He was too shocked, and he looked like he was paralyzed. It lasted for a while, and I burst and ran to my cabin. The golden-eyed girl followed me, clearly seeing that I was agitated. Tears welled in my eyes as I thought of that long time that he allowed her to kiss him, and the tears spilled when I heard him make a faint sound outside the door.

I plopped down on one of the beanbags in the corner of my room, and I picked out a photo that my best friend Zoe and I took back in my home; Greece. I looked at it, and memories came flooding back. She had her blackish brown, waist length hair in two braids, and her golden green eyes gleaming while she was laughing. She had long legs, but her ribs some-what stuck out. Zoe wasn't her real name; she said her father named her after a Greek goddess, but she never liked being called that. Zoe was her middle name, though, so she just stuck to it. She and I were those 'you're-beautiful-but-no-one-realizes-it-'til-you're-gone' girls. We never wore make up, but eventually wore lip gloss for things like chapped lips. We were loners, we always were those kids that had one parent one place, and another parent another place. It's called the 'magic' of divorce. My parents divorced when I was little, and her parents were the same. We had different groups of friends, but we always stayed at just one. She was always a straight-A student, and I was right behind her. You could say that we were the nerds of the school. We were bullied and flirted with by the populars, the ones that were the most obnoxious and stupid in the school.

That included Zoe's dream guy Damien. So, I'm gonna set this straight. How'd they get together? It all started with a stupid bet. That's right, a bet. Someone had betted over $100 that Zoe wouldn't fall for him, and guess what? She did fall for him. And when that month or week was over, he dumped her. She was heartbroken, and I mended her heart. He tried to convince her again, but it was nothing to her. She even poured her strawberry smoothie all over him, and kicked him in the gut. But, every time she'd do that; right afterward she'd break down. She'd sob, she'd cry, but the number one thing she'd do? Archery. See, she was the captain of the horse riding team, the archery team, the sparring club, and the swimming team. She would be counted as an athlete, but then she'd get into the populars. She never wanted that; she just wanted to be normal. The more I thought about it, it sounded more like...Celene.

I dropped the photo on the cold wooden floor, and with trembling fingers; picked it back up. I whispered to the sky, "Celene, please come back. Please."

Meanwhile... (Celene's POV)  
I looked at the wolf, and immediately recognized her. "Moon... is that you?" Moon was a wolf I met in the woods one day while shooting arrows. It helped me gain control over myself, and I needed that a lot in that time. "Moon, it's really you!" I squealed and started to rub her, and scratched the space between her tailbone, and she collapsed on my knees and rolled around. I laughed, and grabbed Nico's hand. Tugging him forward; I placed his hand on Moon's back, and he started to rub it gently.

I smiled at him, and he kissed my forehead. I heard howling I the distance; and Moon instantly shot up and nudged me. "You want me to get on you?" I asked her, and she just nodded. "Alright, then. Let's go." I murmured, and she sped off, following where the sound was coming from.

We arrived at the entrance of a series of tunnels, and two guards nodded at Moon; and they separated their spears that were connected in an 'x'. When we entered the tunnels, there was a whole new world. In each burrow of the tunnels, there was a home and shop, and some were right next to each other. There was clearly a ruler, because ahead of us stood a huge tunnel that lead to a huge building; or at least that's what a peasant lady told me. Moon left us already, so I was walking with Nico in the village. Suddenly, he pulled me out of the road, and a thundering rumbling came to the ground, and the rocks started to bounce on the ground. Suddenly, a huge net thing was attached to a pair of huge poles that were attached to wolves of a coal black. In the middle of the beautifully designed carpet sat the person I'd been least expecting to be there. _He_ was there. The person who made me cry for weeks with no end; the person who had bullied me during school, and broke my heart. Damien was there, sitting on that carpet. He was the ruler of these tunnels.

_Fuck my luck_, I thought as he rode past me and Nico. Then, he brought out a scroll, and started to read off of it. Everyone was there; I'm guessing that he kept track of who was here or not. When he came near us, he faltered when he saw my face. He cupped my face in his hands, and kissed me. I was too shocked to do anything, but shoved him off of me. "How could you do that, you bastard!" Some of the guards dived for me, but I jumped over them and threw my necklace in the air. It transformed into my bow and arrows, and I notched an arrow in, aiming it at anybody who moved. Everyone backed off, and Damien smirked at me.

"Still good with archery, aren't you; Zoe?" I seemed surprised that he brought up my middle name, and I let down my bow.

"That's not my name, you mother fucker." I growled when he took ahold of my hand. My bow went back into my moon pendant, and I strapped it around my neck again before snatching my hand back. "Don't you dare touch me; or I'll stab you for sexual assault," I warned, feeling the knife that reappeared in my converse when I jumped into this hole. I felt Nico snake his hand around my waist, and pull me closer to him. I smiled softly at that; him wanting to protect me from something I feared would happen. I looked at Damien's eyes that were a blue and green. His tan skin and brownish hair made his kind of eyes pop out, which was my favorite characteristic about him. Was, as you can see, is the keyword. His eyes were my favorite, but not anymore. He said he loved me, and then dumped me like I was trash he was waiting to fill then dump in the trash can. I cried for weeks because of him. I couldn't bear to go to that school anymore, so I transferred to a boarding school for Excelling Girls. It helped me get college credits while I was in 11th grade, so I was planning to go to college in Florida. "I cried for weeks, because of you. I thought you were dead! I thought that you loved me, but for one of the first times, I thought the stupidest thought. Why? Because of _you_! You were the reason, because you _dumped_ me, _you_ cheated on me when I took _you_ back even after I spilled all my drinks on _you_ and kicked _you_ in the gut. I moved on. It's time you do too." He did the unthinkable. He actually pulled me along with him when he sat in the net, and I was pressed up against him. "Where in Hades are you taking me?" I asked, scared of leaving Nico behind me. I was about to jump out when I felt his grip on me tighten.

"Don't even try. The wolves will eat you alive, or the pressure will be too great and you break bones. I wouldn't want my love to be hurt so soon." He warned me, and my eyes almost popped out of their sockets when he said the last sentence. My eyes widened, and memories came in my head like a blow with a brick.

One year six months ago... (Celene's POV)  
I was sitting at my table with Ethan, Chloe, Autumn, and the Cedrics. They were best friends whose names were both Cedric. I saw the popular group pass next to my table, and Matthew, Josh, Jasmine, and Santima were behind the alpha male; Damien. You could believe that I had a little crush on him. Santima 'accidentally' dumped her food in my hair, and she gasped.

"OMG! I mean, who would notice that you were even there?!" She shrieked, and pushed me away from her. I stumbled back, and bumped into Damien. He turned around, and they all started to laugh at the now rat's nest of hair. I was never weak, but feeling the whole cafeteria was laughing at me, I smacked Damien. Yes, I smacked _the_ Damien in the cheek, and ran out of the room. I heard someone shout my name, and I fumbled my fingers through my backpack to find my razor that I kept there. I ran into the girl's bathroom, and locked myself into a stall. I looked at my razor with uncertainty on my face, then brought it down to my skin when I saw Damien. In the girl's bathroom.

His cheek was swollen, and his blue green eyes widened when he saw the razor in my hand. He grabbed me by the hand that didn't have the razor, and pulled me to my feet. I glared at him, and he only looked back at me. I kept my eyes in his, and slashed at my wrist. Blood spurted out, and I felt a tear come down my cheek. He grabbed the razor out of my hand, and scattered it across the room. I looked back to him, and he started to bring out a bandage roll, and bandaged my arm. I frowned at him. He never was this nice, only if he wanted something. "What do you want from me?" I asked wearily, and he looked at me in surprise.

"I can be a nice person sometimes," Damien shrugged, and I intensified my glare at him even more. I stared at him more, and he hesitantly grabbed my injured hand. He handled with it gently, and started to get out the marinara sauce and cheese stick crumbs and asparagus from my hair. I shuddered, and he felt my head. "Zoe, you need to go to the nurse, now. You're burning up, and you're shivering."

I immediately wriggled away from him. "N-no!" I whimpered, and he cocked his head. I groaned, and sighed. "I'm not going. You don't even give a crap abut it. You can just go join your little perfect group, and go in your player ways. I don't give a damn." I jumped off of the window ledge, and quickly stepped out of the bathroom.


	6. Memories and I Love You

Meanwhile... (Silena's POV)  
"Piper, are you in there?" I asked quietly as I knocked on the door with two fingers. It was a habit I had, and it assured my nails to look perfect... or at least that's what mattered to me before Celene jumped and did a suicidal. Now, all I wanted to do was rip Gaea into shreds. I got Beckendorf to unlock the door, and I walked in to find an asleep Piper, and a crumpled up photo of next to her, that had her and surprisingly Celene. It looked like they were 12 to 16, I never could tell with those two.

I picked up Piper, and tucked her under the covers of her full-sized bed. I looked around the room. It was quite colorful, with her snowboarding jacket up on a hook on the headboard of her bed. Her bed sheets were a bluish green, like the colors of her eyes. I quickly kissed her forehead like a mother would, and closed the door quietly behind me.

Next Day...(Damien's POV)  
Celene was peacefully sleeping in the guest bedroom, her black and brown curls flowing carelessly on the edges of the bed and pillows. I sighed, and the door opened. It was that guy, the guy who Celene moved on with. His hazel eyes flickered with anger, and he gripped my shirt by the collar.

"Don't you dare touch her, you hear me? I can do a whole lot more than you could ever do with only one breath. Stay away from her," he warned, but relaxed after a moment. I saw the hand on his shoulder, and he let go of me, and turned around to see Celene yawning, with a pair of short shorts and a shirt with the design of a jersey, in the color of a navy blue. Her golden green eyes were soft with concern and wary of the dude, and she led her hand down to his, and tangled her fingers with his. It made me sad, remembering the times that she and I had, while I was in the bet. Sometimes I'd wondered if I didn't do the bet that I'd be here now.

1 year earlier... (still Damien's POV)  
Celene and I'd started dating, but she was still not trusting me like others would after I'd ask them out. I was sitting with Celene at my table, and Jasmine started to soften up to Celene immediately. Santima was still harsh to her, but the guys absolutely loved her. I pulled her closer to me when her best friend Ethan walked up to her.

"What's up, Athan?" He addressed her by her last name, and I could swear I saw her blush. An unfamiliar feeling boiled inside of me, and I thought in surprise, _Is this jealousy? _She looked at me in a 'what are you doing you mother fucker' when I pulled her down while she was about to stand up and go to her own table. She stood up again; and stomped with Ethan by her side to her table, and when she sat down, they all looked at me, and burst out laughing. Celene scolded them, and they immediately turned silent.

"Guys, he's actually pretty nice when you get to know him; don't judge him that way," I heard her say, and bristled when Ethan leaned towards her; and whispered something. I was about to walk over there and beat him up even more when she slapped his arm playfully and they both turned to face the others. They started to laugh more, and I couldn't take it anymore. I stood up abruptly, which surprised everyone at my table. Matt tried to ask what was wrong, but I already started to speed towards the exit to outside.

I headed towards the bathroom, but I heard quiet footsteps behind me. I turned around by someone softly pushing me; and I saw Celene staring at me gently, with short shorts revealing her long legs; and a pullover shirt with a grey shirt underneath. Her waist-length hair was put into two ponytails, and braided over her shoulders. She looked extremely hot, but this... this wasn't personal to me. All I wanted to do was win that bet, and stay away from Celene as much as possible. She was affecting me too much.

"What's wrong?" She asked quietly, reaching up to brush my hair. I smiled at her actions, then thought about her and Ethan.

"You... do you like Ethan?" She immediately started to blush, and my answer was finally answered. I turned away from her, and she actually started to laugh. I turned back around to see her wiping away tears of laughter.

"Damien, if I liked Ethan, then why would I be dating you?" She asked, and looked at me quizzically. She finally sighed, and started to explain. "I liked Ethan for a long time. When I found out he like me back, he and I both went to a dance... and he kissed me. We dated for a while, but then things started getting tough. We promised to keep our feelings for each other, even if we had feelings for different people. He then evolved into a best friend, and we still like each other. We know it's best not to date though, because it would be bad for our friendship. He's now like a big brother to me." She looked at me with an expression like 'are you happy now', and I smiled a toothy grin. It was all fake, but for the first time, it felt real.

I scooped her up, and she rode on my back like a toddler would piggy-back their grandpa or dad. We laughed and joked around, but then the bell rang. "Aww... looks like I have to go now," I fake pouted, and she laughed and pinched my cheek.

"See ya later." She replied, and started to head down the hall.

I watched until she was gone; then whispered to myself, "Now, she has complete trust in me. Now, time to break her heart." I heard a pitter-patter, and saw Jasmine and Santima at the doorway, their eyes wide with their mouths open. Jasmine came and punched me in the gut and started to scream at me in anger for her new friend.

"HOW COULD YOU?! SHE PROBABLY LOVES YOU RIGHT NOW! HOW CAN YOU BE SO... SO CRUEL! SO HEARTLESS?! IS THAT WHAT YOU ARE? HEARTLESS? IT SURE SEEMS LIKE IT!" A crowd had formed, and Celene pushed through the crowd to find Jasmine screaming at me, while I was doubling over in pain.

"What happened?" She almost screeched, and rushed to my side. Jasmine pointed a finger at me, and started to rant until she came to the point.

"HE MADE A MOTHER FUCKING BET ON YOU FALLING FOR HIM, AND NOW HE'S PLANNING ON BREAKING YOUR HEART!" She shrieked at the top of her lungs, and Celene's eyes widened, and she took a few steps away from me.

"I...is this true... Damien?" I heard her ask, and I just silently nodded. "So... this all, this all was fake. Everything you said to me, everything you did... it was all fake?" I just nodded in silence, and I saw her trying not to burst in tears, and Ethan appeared next to her. She pushed past him, and ran away. He started to run after her, and so did Jasmine and Santima. That was the day that I broke Celene Athan's heart.

Present...(Percy's POV)  
We had arrived at Greece, so now our ship transformed into a train. We were now in the city of Olympia, and the famous Mt. Olympus stood off of the highest point of the town. We all cheered, and I now knew what she meant. She meant the original Olympus, not the one in New York. Celene meant... oh gods. It's _behind_ Mt. Olympus.

We all climbed up the rock hill, and arrived at the temples. The main one had a hill behind it, and a huge hole was there. I sighed in relief, and we started to skid down the steep hill.

Meanwhile...(Celene's POV)  
I whispered words into Nico's ear, and he instantly relaxed. I hugged him from behind, but he was still tense. I stepped out between the two, and Damien looked... jealous. I stepped closer to Nico, and laced my fingers with his. He gripped my small slender fingers in his, and he kissed my forehead. Damien's expression was very confusing; it was filled with sadness, memories, and jealousy. I cocked my head to the side, and he looked into my eyes. I looked away on the instant, and held Nico's fingers in my hand tighter, and he looked at me with confusion. I looked down at my arm, and I saw its scars from before, even though they weren't truly there.

Damien followed my gaze, and his eyes widened. He looked at me with a worried face, and I frowned. Why would he care? He hurt me. I almost killed myself because of... him. If Ethan hadn't saved me, then things would've been different...

Before I knew it, I was led down to the dining hall, and there was a long table full of food, which was enough to fill my whole town's stomach without leaving three-quarters left. In other words, it was huge. We sat down, and we discussed our plans. "We're here because we're following Gaea, and we have to defeat her. Otherwise, our worlds will turn to chaos." I finished, and Nico looked up at me from his eggs and pancakes. He looked at my plate, which was empty with only a piece of toast and some grapes, and I just shrugged. He cocked his head to the side, and looked at me with a wary expression.

Damien spoke up after the silence, "Well, I will let you guys go. But, it's a dangerous world out there. Especially with Gaea out there. But, if you and him go wrong, or if you need help, you can always come here." He looked at me pleadingly, but I only returned his expression with a curt nod, but breaking on the inside. He reminded me of when he tried to make me forgive him, but... I never could. Until one day.

Both Nico and I stood up, and Nico took one last bite of his eggs. I rolled my eyes fondly at him, and tugged at his hand. We left the room, leaving Damien with a forlorn face and a plead; _Please don't go. _

Meanwhile... (Percy's POV)  
We all looked down at the hole. All of us could hear the faint laughter of something down there, and I immediately tensed. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and I turned around to see Thalia looking worried at my actions. I let out a curt nod, and she got even more worried. We heard silence, then a gasp from Katie on my right. She had a vine impaled through the south-eastern part of her stomach, and she crumpled to the ground like a piece of a crumbled candy wrapper. Travis called out to her, and Juniper screamed at her.

"Take her back to the ship, Travis! Connor, you help him. Beckendorf..." At his feet was a box. He picked it up, and opened it slightly. His eyes widened, and he motioned it for all of us to go backwards.

"EVERYONE RUN! TAKE COVER!" He screamed and threw it in the hole. As soon as it hit a ledge, it exploded. Beckendorf had gone too slow, and he screamed as he was blown to the edge of a hill, and was poured on with rocks and boulders, along with Leo and Hazel. We all yelled out to them, but there was no response. Gwen, Reyna, and Silena rushed out to them, and started to throw rocks everywhere, trying to dig them out.

Then Hades broke loose. We saw a few figures, one in the lead, with two behind it. The first figure was Gaea, her coal black hair whipping out behind her like snakes. (She slightly reminded me of Medusa) with my sister and Nico behind her. Gaea jumped out at us, but Celene jumped after and grabbed her by the ankle. Gaea screamed as she fell, and grabbed onto a ledge. Nico called out to Celene, and she replied with a 'I love you', and he looked at her with a surprised expression. She pulled harder at Gaea, and Gaea's grasp on the ledge loosened, and the both of them fell into the darkness.


End file.
